When I heard Stein's screams, my heart pounded. This was a Ghost Police officer's room with a "great beauty" hidden inside - it couldn't possibly be unprotected. There might be traps waiting.
Stein could be considered as having stepped on the mine for me, but even so, I didn't dare rush in to save him. Who knew if I'd suffer the same fate? If we both got taken down inside, that would be the end.
"Stein! What's happening in there?" I called out urgently.
After a long pause, Stein's voice came from inside: "There's a ghost in here! Come save me!"
A ghost? Inside the room?
Gripping my Copper Coin Sword, I charged in - at least it wasn't a mechanical trap.
The scene inside froze my blood. Five children were piled on Stein's body, their cheeks glowing unnaturally red, bare bottoms exposed with little bellybuttons, hair in pigtails - all looking about five years old.
When they noticed me, instead of fear, they bared their teeth in grotesque grins. Their eyes gleamed with malice, surrounded by an eerie aura. No doubt - these were ghosts.
"Pathetic little ghosts!" I shouted, imitating Taoist masters from TV. "Dare to haunt here? Leave now or face my wrath!" I hoped to scare them off - after all, while people fear ghosts three parts, ghosts fear people seven.
"Our master ordered that intruders be eaten alive!" one ghost-child hissed viciously before lunging at me, mouth gaping.
Horrifyingly, its mouth suddenly distorted, sprouting rows of fangs that grew wildly like a boar's tusks. Its body twisted like rotting flesh - its true ghost form revealed, meaning it intended to kill!
"Damn it! You really want to eat me?" I swung the Copper Coin Sword. Sparks flew as the blade severed the creature's arm. It shrieked terribly, collapsing in convulsions while the severed limb flopped like a dying fish before dissolving into black pus.
The other ghost-children froze. Clearly they hadn't expected me - an extraordinary person - to disable one of them so easily. Their faces darkened, their feast interrupted.
Yet moments later, they still fearlessly attacked. Their ghost forms grew even more horrifying - some with elongated teeth, others with razor claws. One's face had completely rotted away, exposing pus-oozing flesh that made my skin crawl.
I showed no mercy either, swinging my sword wildly. The room filled with wailing screams as ghostly cries echoed in all directions. I didn't come out unscathed - the little ghosts' rotting claws had scratched my arm in several places, staining half my sleeve red. The wounds felt cold and itchy, probably due to yin energy invasion. If that got into my system, it would cause real problems.
"Stop gawking and help already!" I shouted at Stein.
Earlier the brats had pinned him down, but now that they'd all jumped on me, he was free! Only when I yelled did Stein snap out of it. Though terrified, he couldn't just watch me get swarmed - at this rate, even if I killed all the ghosts, I'd be seriously wounded.
Stein scrambled up and pulled out his rusty mortar and pestle, eyeing one particular ghost-child with disgust.
The kid was too focused on fighting me to notice Stein sneaking up. Before it could react, the Demon Pestle smashed through the back of its head, instantly blowing its skull apart.
"Aaaah—!" A bloodcurdling scream filled the air as the ghost-child burst like a balloon, black blood splattering across the floor. The stench that followed made us want to vomit.
"What the hell? This thing's actually powerful?" Stein stared in amazement at the rusted mortar and pestle. He'd thought this inferior-grade magical artifact - and a rusty one at that - wouldn't be effective. Yet it had obliterated the ghost in one hit.
But just as Stein basked in triumph, the pestle crumbled to dust with a dull thud - just like the ghost-child had.
Stein's jaw dropped speechlessly. He'd just wanted to help out, never expecting to lose his magical artifact...
The Demon-Subduing Pestle had already been badly rusted and worn out. That final strike must have used up all its remaining power.
Of the five little ghosts, one was dead, the armless one still twitched on the floor, while the other three scattered in terror. Instead of fleeing the room, they whooshed under the bed and vanished.
The remaining armless ghost tried escaping too, but I didn't give it the chance. One sword stroke severed its neck. After gurgling briefly, its head rolled under the bed and disappeared, while the headless body actually kept trying to crawl away - until I pierced its heart with my sword, reducing it to a puddle of black blood.
I wondered what trick lay beneath the bed, making the ghosts disappear there. Stein and I approached cautiously, sweeping our swords across the floor until we discovered a wine jar hidden underneath.
When I pulled out the jar, I found a ghost talisman stuck to its lid - identical to mine. Black mist swirled inside the container, and when I peered closer, several pairs of eyes stared back from the darkness.
"So these little ghosts were hidden in the wine altar - must be the Living Dead's pet ghosts," I said.
"The Living Dead? This is his room? Little Boss, you've really screwed me this time!" Stein's face paled as tears streamed down, realizing it was too late for regrets.
"Who the hell lives there? Making such noise when people need to sleep!"
"Damn it! What time is it? Keep making noise and I'll set my jiangshi on you, motherfucker!"
"Go climb Mount Zhongnan if you're so energetic! Don't even think about sleeping when you get there, noisy bastards!"
"I swear I'll beat you punks and rip your mouths off! Still want to argue?"
Suddenly, curses erupted from all directions. Our fight with the ghost-children had been too loud, clearly annoying everyone. Even Boss Qin came up to investigate, but fortunately I pinched my nose and imitated the Living Dead's voice: "It's nothing, just knocked over a table." The deception worked.
The Living Dead's voice wasn't hard to mimic - just that awful, shrill tone like a hen squawking after laying an egg.
"What kind of people stay in this place? Talking about beating people and keeping jiangshi..." I muttered.
"Could be the Goddess and corpse-herders. Looks like many Erebus profiteers have come to Mount Zhongnan. Something's fishy - why so many visitors?" Stein blurted out thoughtlessly.
"Forget that for now. What about these ghost kids? Hiding in the altar thinking we can't get them?" I said.
Stein insisted on no mercy: "We've already killed one and wasted another. Might as well finish them all, or the survivors will snitch to their master. Then we're really screwed!"
I'd considered being merciful, but Stein had a point. We couldn't let the Living Dead know we'd been here!
I raised the Copper Coin Sword and slashed at the wine altar. Unexpectedly, the altar repelled the sword, leaving both container and ghosts completely unharmed.